Is the U.S. biotechnology industry pushing its products on developing countries through food aid programs?
There has been a major international public research effort for the development of the technology to solve numerous crop production and nutrition problems around the world. It is therefore unfortunate that biotechnology is thought of only as a tool of multinational companies. Public research work is ongoing to improve staple crops such as cassava, potato, and rice with enhanced pest resistance, tolerance to environmental stress or nutritional characteristics. Where the technology has already been adopted, bio-engineered crops have allowed growers to increase yields, decrease costs and reduce pesticide use. Publicly supported development efforts involve U.S. universities and foundations, European research institutions, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and many other research institutions in developing countries. USAID supports the development of the technology, as one component of an agricultural development strategy. Among the goals of these effort
